July- A month on the go!

July for us was a month on the go and we had so much fun!  It all started as we were crossing back over the International Data line from our houseboat trip my phone started to go crazy and Nate realized something was up.  After reading the messages we knew we would be heading back home that day...a BIG storm had hit Olivia the night before.  After dropping the kids off at my parents house we returned to Olivia to see one heck of a mess from the storm (glad we were not here)!  We had great people who watched our house for us and so we were left with little to do so the next morning we got up and headed back to my parents for the 4th of July festivities.

Nate and I were home for a couple days then we took at Twinstrain trip to Chicago.  This was a GREAT trip!  Twinstrain is a bus that takes people to Twins games.  This was my first time to Chicago and I will definitely be going back!  We got to go to 2 twins games, a pre-game patio party and enjoyed the nightlife in downtown Chicago!  The Chicago White Sox fans were GREAT! 


Andy's Summer Rec Baseball Tourney was the week we got back...well it was supposed to be.  They got their first game in and won but then because of weather had to wait 4 days to finish the Tourney.  What was really cool about this was Andy got to play a game against his cousin Austin from Granite Falls, that was a little extra special for him even if he did lose.



The following week both Andy and Kaden got to go to golf camp.  This was a really big deal for Kaden.  Kaden is getting very frustrated with the fact that he is not quite old enough to do things.  The golf club was nice enough to take Kaden even though he was not six.  They both really enjoyed this camp and learned a lot!  This also gave Derrick and I a chance to have alone time.  The first day he missed his brothers but after that he learned to love having his mom's full attention!

This week we also went to Games Lake.  This was the first time we had been to this "local" beach area.  The boys LOVED it and we will be going back for sure next summer!  We had to leave their a little early because that night I was driving to the cities for my DC trip.

Heidi Gross and myself went to DC to visit our friend Becky Marquez.  We had a GREAT time and we did tons in the short time we were there.  We flew out early Thursday morning and Becky picked us up from the airport and took us to the place she works.  We spent the afternoon looking around.  After work we went and cleaned up then went out for supper to a Spanish restaurant that was fabulous!  Friday was a big day for us not to mention the hottest day ever in DC.  We went to the Supreme Court, ate at the old Post office, toured the White house, Toured the Capital (met up with a former student who gave us a more in-depth tour), and went to the library of congress.  After all this we were exhausted!  On Saturday we went and toured the monuments... Lincoln, Korean War, and Vietnam.  That day we also went to Ford's Theatre (this was actually one of my favorite things we did...they do a very good job here! ).  Sunday we drove over to Mount Vernon (again another GREAT tour) and went to Old Town.  We had such a nice time and Becky was an awesome hostess!  

I get back from DC in time for Corn Capital days (I did get a couple days rest).  On Thursday night Andy did the youth Triathlon.  I was so proud of him, he did the entire thing--swimming, biking and running --- all himself, he was exhausted but had fun!  
On Saturday morning I did the 5 mile run...this was our longest run yet and so we were really proud of this accomplishment!  Then we did the usual Corn day events with my parents...corn feed, parade and Lions Fly-in breakfast!

What a great July even if it was SUPER hot!  

June- Let the Crazy begin (good crazy!)

Summer has begun (and almost gone) and I have been so busy I have not had a chance to write my blogs.  So before I go back to work in a couple weeks I need to get caught up!

 We started the “summer” by celebrating Derrick’s 3^rd birthday as a family at Fort Ridgley.  We had a picnic lunch, went hiking and learned about local history.  We all had a GREAT time.  He also got his own set of golf clubs this year so he can golf with his brothers.  Derrick started summer rec this year and did very well.  He was in the same class as Kaden so that helped a lot, there were only a couple days he threw a fit about going.  “The Brothers” are still Derrick’s heroes and usually he wants to spend all of his time with them.  Kaden also enjoyed summer rec this year but is ready to move on to the next level.  He is not too happy that he is not going to kindergarten for another year. 

Andy had a very busy month.  He won an award from the Renville County Historical Society for his picture of Abe Lincoln.  He got a really cool prize bag that included a military cap, Gettysburg set, train whistle and many other goodies.  He also got to meet “Abe Lincoln” himself.  Andy took swimming lessons, went to basketball camp, and summer rec again this summer.  This year he also added a Stingers Baseball camp and Summer Rec baseball.  He really enjoyed being able to start baseball this year.  He was able to travel and play neighboring towns.  For the most part he played third base.  For his Friends party we took them to a Willmar Stingers Baseball game, some of his friends had never been to a game before so this was a lot of fun.  At times Nate and I got lots of looks from people when we were walking around with 6 boys 7 and under. 

I have continued running…well I prefer to call it distance jogging.  During the month of June (and last weekend in May)  I have done three races (they are what I enjoy the most)  I did a 5k Memorial Weekend run in Willmar (very nice), a 5K in Redwood (that was a little disorganized) and the Foot lake 4 mile in Willmar (very pretty).  I have a great running partner and could not do it without her.

Nate and I once again played in the Wing Ding Day business volleyball tournament.  It was a rainy muddy mess but a lot of fun.  RCC won so that made it more fun!

As a Family we have been very busy.  We have been gone almost every weekend.  We had

-          Kacie and Bryant’s wedding:  The boys like weddings and seem to have a lot of fun at them till one of them crashes (gets too tired).  Most stand- out memory for us was Kaden hustling for money.  He would go tell people these sob stories about how he wanted to go fishing but had no money for tackle or wanted to start a lawn mowing business but had to buy a lawn mower and people would give him money.  Most of the people would start to recognize me and see me coming and warn him he was going to be in trouble with his mom.  That same weekend we celebrated Andy’s 7^th Birthday and Derrick’s 3^rd Birthday with family. 

-          Another weekend we went to Detroit Lakes to help Sam and Chad with projects around their new house.  It was a lot of fun for the kids and adults to have some time together.  We got a few projects done but did ruin their entryway for them L oops…..

-          The biggest adventure of the month was a weeklong houseboat trip on Rainy Lake (International Falls) with Nate’s family.  WHAT A BLAST!  The kids made so many memories on this trip...they will talk about it for years to come.  One of the coolest parts of the whole trip was visiting Kettle Falls, where Phil and Vicki had visited on their honeymoon!  

What a GREAT start to the summer… a lot of good memories were made and a lot of family time!